smith



pr 22, 1941. E. R. SMITH 2,239,276

BRUSH ADJUSTING NECHANISM FOR CARPET SWEEPERS Filed Aug. 4, 1937 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 IN V EN TOR. u Earle R. Smzlib ATTORNEY.

Arl 2, 1941. E. R. SMITH 22mm@ BRUSH ADJUSTING MECHANISM FOR CARPET SWEEPERS Filed Aug. 4, 1937 2 -Sheets--Shee 2 INVENToR. EazZeR. Smith A TTORNEY.

a position in which an arrow 60 on the ferrule points to the legend Low on the exterior of the socket member l (ZE'ig. 1), and wherein the pin 54 reposes in the recess 51 to lock thev handle against accidental turningl movement.

To effect a high adjustment of the brush the handle is rst depressed to remove the pin 54 from the recess 5l and then turned from the Low position until it reaches a circumferential position of adjustment in which the arrow 60 points to the legend High on the socket member. risesinto the recess 5'!a to. lock the handle in this High position of adjustment. Concurrently with such turning movement of the handle the ferrule is likewise turned causing the lugs 55 to engage the lugs 49 and thus rotate the disk 48. Rotation of the disks pulls the wires 4| in opposite directions to` simultaneously elevate both loops. 4l] thereby raising the hangers 25 and the brackets 24 against the tension of the springs 36 and thus elevating the brush to its high position of adjustment..

Manifestly, to restore fthe brush to its low posi-tion of adjustment the handle is first depressed in the socket and then turned to remove the pin 54 from the recess 5la and into the recess 57. This4 relieves the wires 40 and 4l of any pull and allows fthe hangers and brackets to return to lowered position under the action of the springs 35. Should the handle be turned further than that actually required to lower the brush, the pin 54 will rise automatically into fthe recess 51, thus preventing accidental detachment of the handle from the bail. By depressing the handle and at the same time turning it so that the arrow 66 points to the legend Out (Fig. 1), the pin is moved out of the recess and into the vertical end of the groove thereby allowing detachment of the handle from the bail.

It is signicant that in this embodiment oi my invention the brush adjusting mechanism permits free iloating movement of the brush in both positions of adjustments thereof, and thus irrespective of the brush adjustment, the brush pulleys are at all :times free tomaintain positive driving contact with all loor wheels during both d-irections of movement of the sweeper over a floor.

Referring now to Figs. 7, 8 and 9, I have here shown a brush adjusting mechanism adaptable to a carpet sweeper in which the brush is noniioating. As in Figs. 1 and 2 such a sweeper embodies a casing 6l having at each end an end wall 62 generally of wood and a cover plate 63 generally of metal and having its vertical portion spaced from Lthe end wall and its top portion extended over to the end wall but formed with a recess 64 through which the respective end portion of a bail-L is extended.

The bail L' is identical in construction to the bail L in the first form of my invention, except the end is ilattened inwardly from its outer side and the opening 43a for the wire or cable lilat is disposed to the outer bail side. The bail end is pivoted on a stud 65 secured in fthe end wall 62 and also carried on the stud is a bail stabilizing disk 66. This disk is conventional in carpet sweepers and is for the purpose of preventing free oscillation of the casing on the bail to eliminate jumping of the casing on the oor.

The sweeper also includes the usual brush B, at each end of which is a pulley I8 disposed between fthe respective iioor wheels Ila, and formed with a bearing 61 for a pintle 63. The

In this position of the handle fthe pin 54 pintle isl secured to a hanger 69 which is; mounted for vertical movement at the outer side of the cover plate 63 by a stud 10 secured to the hanger u and operating in a slot 'Il of the cover plate, and a small stud 'l2 secured to the cover plate and extending into a slot 13 in the hanger. The hanger is made of spring metal so that it may be iiexed outwardly as shown inbroken lines in Fig. 8, to remove the pirrtle 68 from the bearing 61 and thereby allow detachment of the brush from the casing. l

At the inner side of the cover plate 63 the stud 'lil carries a flanged disk 'i4 and a sleeve 75, both formed preferably of ber. On the disk bears the medial portion of a spring 16 for urging the hanger downwardly to cause lthe brush to occupy a low position of adjustment.

This spring is secured at its ends to the end sionV of the spring 16 to lift the brush to its highk position of adjustment.

It will be understood that there are two Wires lla and two vertical slidable hangers 69, and that the two wires are operatively connected to the sweeper handle in the same mechanism as in the rst form of my invention. Hence, the brush can be moved by operation of the handle to secure low and high adjustments of the brush B.

As shown in Fig. 9, the slot 'H is of triangular form to provide inclined side edges either ofv which functions to cam the stud 'lll upwardly when the stud is` pulled laterally upwardly by the wire 4ta should the bail be in an inclined position to either side of ythe sweeper when actuatingl the handle.

jus-tment of the brush, the wires 4Ia will exert pulling forces upwardly but mostly tor the side of the studs because of the angular relation of the wires to the studs. Thus, if straight slots were used instead of the triangular slots, the studs would bind in the slots preventing the required upward movement of the hangers, but with the triangular slots their side edges serve to cam the studs upwardly thus elevating the hangers as required to secure the high adjustment of the brush.

Although I have herein shown and described only two forms of brush adjusting mechanisms for carpet sweepers embodying my invention, it is to be understood that various changes and modifications may be made herein without departing from the spirit of my invention and the spirit and scope of the appended claims.

I claim:

1. In a carpet sweeper; a casing; a brush in the casing having pulleys and journals thereon; hangers mounted for vertical movement on the casing; brackets pivoted on the hangers to occupy either of two extreme positions; elongated bearings on the brackets receiving the journals, saidf' bearings occupying a horizontal position when the brackets are in one extreme position and vertical position when the brackets are in the otherV extreme position; means for urging the hangers downwardly to cause the brush to It will be understood that` if the bail is to either side of a vertical position when the handle is turned to effect a high adoccupy a low position of adjustment; and means to secure a high position of adjustment of the brush.

2. In a carpet sweeper; a casing; a brush movable vertically in the casing; hangers having pintles rotatably supporting the brush; studs on the hangers; slots in the casing receiving the pintles and studs to allow vertical movement of the hangers on the casing; springs for urging the hangers downwardly to cause the brush to occupy a low position of adjustment; a bail pivoted on the casing; wires connected to thestuds and extending into the bail; a handle mounted for movement on the bail; and a connection between the handle and wires by which the wires can be actuated through movement of the handle relative t the bail to elevate the hangers and secure a high adjustment of the brush, the slots for the studs having inclined side edges by which the studs are cammed upwardly under any lateral pulling force exerted by the wires.

3. In a brush adjusting mechanism for carpet sweepers; a bail of tubular form; a socket. on the bail; a handle rotatable in thesocket; wires extending through the bail; a rotatable element in the bail operatively connected to said wires so that when rotated it will actuatethe wires; and an operative connection between said element and said handle by which through rotation of the handle in the socket actuation of said element can be effected, said connection comprising lugs on said handle and lugs on said element disposed at an angle to the handle lugs and in the path of movement thereof when the handle is rotated.

4. In a brush adjusting mechanism for carpet sweepers; a bail of tubular form; a connectorv on the bail having a socket; a handle having a ferrule secured thereto and rotatably received in the socket; a bayonet groove in the socket having an open end and a recess in its upper wall adjacent its open end; a spring in the connector for urging the ferrule outwardly of the socket; a pin on the ferrule disposed in said groove to resist the urging action of the spring and frictionally retain the ferrule in certain circumferential position of adjustment; the pin adapted to engage within the recess for latching the ferrule against turning the pin to the open end of the groove; wires in the bail; and a connection between the ferrule and wires by which the wires can be pulled upon circumferential adjustment of the ferrule.

5. In a brush adjusting mechanism for carpet sweepers as embodied in claim 4, wherein said connection comprises a disk rotatable in the connector opposite the socket and to which the wires are connected; lugs on the ferrule; and lugs on the disk disposed in the path of movement of the ferrule lugs when the ferrule is rotated to rotate the disk and thus actuate the wires 6. In a carpet sweeper; a casing; a brush movable vertically in the casing; hangers having pintles rotatably supporting the brush; studs on the hangers; slots in the casing receiving the pintles and studs to allow vertical movement of the hangers on the casing; springs for urging the hangers downwardly to cause the brush to occupy a low position of adjustment; a bail pivoted on the casing; wires connected to the studs and extending into the bail; a handle mounted for movement on the bail; and a connection between the handle and wires by which the wires can be actuated through movement of the handle relative to the bail to elevate the hangers and securp f igh adjustment of the brush.

'7. In a carpet sweeper, a casing, a rotary brush in the'casing, means associated with the casing for supporting the brush and movable vertically relative to the casing whereby the brush may be adjusted to high and low positions with respect to the surface to be cleaned, a bail pivotally mounted on said casing, a handle movably carried by said bail, flexible means connected to the sweeper handle and to the brush supporting means at substantially the axis of rotation of the sweeper bail whereby movement of the bail is independent of movement of said brush supporting means, and spring means normally urging saidv brush supporting means to a low position, said flexible means being connected to said brush supporting means at such point that a pull on said flexible means is effective to move said brush supporting means against the tension of said spring means, said handle being movable relative to the sweeper bail to actuate the flexible means t0 effect a high or low adjustment of said brush supporting means and brush.

8. In a carpet sweeper, a casing, a rotary brush in the casing, means associated with the casing l for supporting the brush and movable vertically relative to the casing whereby the brush may be adjusted to high and low positions with respect to the surface to be cleaned, a bail pivotally mounted on said casing, a handle movably carried by said bail, means connected to the sweeper handle and to the: brush supporting means at substantially the axis of rotation of the sweeper bail whereby movement of the bail is independent of movement of said brush supporting means, and resilient means normally urging said brush supporting means in one direction, said connecting means being connected to said brush supporting means at such point that a pull on said connecting means is effective to move said brush supporting means against the action of said resilient means in an opposite direction, said handle being movable relative to the sweeper bail to actuate the connecting means to effect an adjustment of said brush supporting 7 means and brush.

9. In a carpet sweeperya casing, a rotary brush in the casing, means associated with the casing for supporting the brush and movable vertically relative to the casing whereby the brush may be adjusted to high and low positions with respect to the surface to be cleaned, a bail pivotally mounted on said casing, a handle movably carried by said bail, flexible means connected to the sweeper handle and to the brush supporting means at substantially the `axis of rotation of the Sweeper bail whereby movement of the bail is independent of movement of said brush supporting means, spring means normally urging said brush supporting means in one direction, said ex'ble means being `connected to said brush supporting means at such point that a pull on said flexible means is effective to move said brush supporting means against the tension of said spring means, said handle being movable to predetermined positions relative to the sweeper bail to actuate the flexible means to effect an adjustment of said brush supporting means and brush, and additional means associated with the handle and bail to limit the movement of the handle to the adjusted high and low positions.

10. In a carpet sweeper, a casing, a rotary brush in the casing, means associated with the casing for supporting the brush and movable vertically relative to the casing whereby the brush may be adjusted to high and low positions with respect to the surface to be cleaned, a hollow bail pivotally mounted on said casing, a handle carried by and rotatable with respect to said bail, flexible meansl extending through said hollow bail and connected to the sweeper handle and to the brush supporting means at substantially the axis of rotation of the sweeper bail whereby movement of the bail is independent of movement of said brush supporting means, and spring means normally urging said brush supporting means in one direction, said flexible means being connected to said brush supporting means at such point that a pull on said flexible means is eiective to move said brush supporting means in an opposite direction against the tension of said spring means, said handle being rotatable relative to the sweeper bail to actuate the flexible means to effect an adjustment of said brush supporting means and brush.

11. In a carpet sweeper, a casing, a rotary brush in the casing, means associated with the casing for supporting the brush and movable vertically relative to the casing whereby the brush may be adjusted to high and low positions with respect to the surface to be cleaned, a bail pivotally mounted on said casing, a handle movably carried by 'said bail, a flexible loo-p connected to the brush supporting means substantially at the pivotal axis of said bail, flex- 'ible means connected to the sweeper handle and to said loop adjacent the pivotal axis of said bail whereby movement of the bail is independent of movement of said brush supporting means, and spring means normally urging said brush supporting means in one direction, said iiexible means being connected to said brush supporting means at such point that a pull on said flexible meansis eiective to move said brush supporting means in an opposite direction against the tension of said spring means, said handle being movable relative to the sweeper bail to actuate the flexible means to effect an adjustment of said brush supporting means and brush.

12. In a carpet sweeper, a casing, a rotary brush in the casing, brush supports associated with the casing and slidable vertically relative thereto whereby the brush may be adjusted to high and low positions with respect to the surface to be cleaned, said brush supports each having a stud engaged with an inclined guide on said casing So arranged that said brush supports are moved in a Vertical direction when a pull laterally upward is exerted on the studs, a bail pivotally mounted on said casing, a handle rotatably carried by said bail, flexible means connected to the sweeper handle and to said studs on said brush supports, and spring means normally urging said brush supports in one direction, said flexible means being adapted to exert a pull on said studs when the handle is actuated to move said brush supports in an opposite vertical direction.

13. In a carpet sweeper, a casing, a rotary brush in the casing, a bail pivotally mounted on said casing,v a connector secured to said bail, means in the bail and on the casing to adjust the brush with respect to the surface to be cleaned, said connector having a slot therein with limit stops corresponding to the adjusting positions for the brush, and a handle adapted to be removably inserted into the connector, said handle having means rcooperating with the slot and the limit stops and being adapted to actuate the first-mentioned means to such adjusted positions of the brush limited by the stops.

14. In a carpet sweeper, a casing, a rotary brush in the casing, a bail pivotally mounted on said casing, a connector secured to said bail, means in the bail and on the casing to` adjust the brush with respect to the surface to be cleaned, and a handle adapted to be removably inserted into the connector, said connector and handle having a pin and slot connection therebetween with limit stops in the slot corresponding to the adjusting positions for the brush, and said handle being adapted to actuate the rstmentioned means to such adjusted positions of the brush limited by the stops.

EARLE R. SMITH.

@greeted Apr. 22, 1941 vTREATMENT 0F MOLTN ALUMINUM AND ITS ALLO Philip T. Stroup, New Remington, Pa.,.assignor to Alumi num Company of America, Pittsburgh,

Pa., a corporation of Pennsylvania No Drawing.

Application August 2, 1939,1

Serial No. 288,031 y (Cl. 'l5-68) .,1

5 Claims.

This invention relates to the treatment of molten aluminum and its alloys -for the purpose of removing certain impurities therefrom.

In producing commercial aluminum basealloys, it is often desirable to usevarying amounts of aluminum and aluminum base alloy scrap metal in order to reduce the proportion of Virgin aluminum that would otherwise be required and as well as to prevent an undue accumulation of scrap material. Theterm scrap metal," as here employed, refers to aluminum and aluminum base alloys that have been employed in some previous fabricating operation. Certain of the elements found `in scrap metal are frequently (useful'in making the desired alloy, while other elements are in some cases undesirable, if not deleterious to the properties of the final product. It is, therefore, necessary to either select suitable scrap metal free from the undesired elements or to treat the metal in some way to reduce or eliminate these elements altogether. Such undesired elements are here considered to be impurities with respect to the alloy being produced, whether or not they have a detrimental e'ect upon the alloy.

It should be emphasized that such elements as are herein terme'd undesirable may sometimes be intentionally laddedin controlled amounts to produce specific characteristics in an aluminum base alloy, but they may be regarded as generally undesirable when -the said specific characteristics are not required.

Various general methods oi' luxing molten aluminum and its alloys have been used heretofore, but no commercially feasible method has been known for substantially eliminating the impurities antimony, bismuth, lead, and tin, which may be introduced through the use of scrap metal. Since at times it may be necessary to use vsome scrap metal, which contains these impurities, in making a final alloy that should be substantlally free from these elements, it is desirable to be able to eliminate these impurities during the melting operation. The limination of these impurities is especially importantin the ease of certain aluminum base alloys because it has been found that the desired properties are more diicult to obtain in these alloys if more than a few hundredths of a per cent of these impurities are present.

My invention is directed to va method of puritying or refining molten aluminous metal with respect to antimony, bismuth, lead, and tin impurities. More specically, the object of my invention is to provide a method for effecting a substantially complete removal of these metallic impurities from aluminum and aluminum base alloys by a simple treatment in the melting room. A further object is to provide a commercially feasible treatment of molten aluminum alloys into which antimony, bismuth, lead, and tin impurities have been introduced through the use oi' scrap metal. Another object is to provide a method of effecting the removal of these undesired elements without appreciably disturbing the proportions of the desired alloying ingredients.

It has been discovered that the addition of sodium to a melt of aluminum or aluminum base alloy containing relatively small amounts of one or more of the elements antimony, bismuth, lead, and tin, serves to substantially eliminate these elements from the melt in the form of insoluble compounds. By substantial elimination I mean that these impurities are either reduced to a trace or at least below an amount which would be'injurious to the nal alloy. The sodium may be added in any suitable manner so long as it is held below the surface of the melt and the melt is sufficiently agitated to permit the distribution of the sodium Athroughout the molten mass. The amount of sodium required to effect the removal of these impurities usually falls between 0.1 and 1 per c ent, depending upon the amount of the impurities present, which in most instances is less than i. per cent. Under these conditions a single treatment with sodium is ordinarily suilcient to effect the substantial elimination of antimony, bismuth, lead, and tin. However, the treatment may be repeated, if necessary.

The sodium introduced into the molten bath appears to form insoluble compounds with the impurities. These compounds accumulate on the surface and/or settle to the bottom of the bath. If more sodium is added than the amount required to remove the impurities, the excess will escape from the melt by rising to the surface and passingoif with the dross or in the form of vapor, or it can be removed the art.

In carrying out my invention in the preferred form, the charge of metal containing antimony, bismuth, lead, or tin impurities is first melted. While the charge is still molten, a small amount by methods known in of metallic sodium is thrust into the melt andA held at the bottom of the charge by means of an inverted, perforated cup mounted on the end of a rod.l The perforated cup is held in this position until the sodium has completely melted and passed into the bath, whereupon the cup is stirred 

